The duo also tracked prey for the director via the internet.
Prey that now included me.
The Kellies had been doing their jobs. More importantly, they had no choice but to do their jobs.
I knew that. I did. I understood. Sympathized even. We were all trapped. Caged within the Bureau’s bars. True, the world was safer with us contained, leashed. But through me, they had put Colby in the director’s crosshairs, and that I had trouble forgiving.
“Works for me.” I had another thought. “Do we know if the truckers are employed by the company? Or are they independent contractors?”
“I’ll make a note,” Asa murmured. “The Kellies can dig up that information while they’re at it.”
A familiar trilling sent me in search of my cell, which I had left on the bed. “Hello?”
“The wards blinked just now.”
Ice glazed my spine, and my fingers curled around the phone. “As in contact?”
The wards had a few different indicators I rigged for Colby, who couldn’t feel them the way I did when in close proximity. The most common was a blink, which meant that a person or object had made contact. I had the sensitivity dialed all the way up while I was away, which meant anything bigger than a chipmunk would trigger a blink.
The blink itself was conveyed via a decorative traffic light I mounted on the wall above Colby’s monitor. I fixed it so brief contact with the wards would flash yellow for caution. Prolonged contact turned it red. If all was well, it remained green.
“It was yellow,” she said in a tiny voice. “It’s okay, I’m okay, I just wanted you to know.”
“Keep an eye on it.” We both knew she wasn’t going to sleep any time soon without adult supervision. “Tell me if it goes red, and I’ll be on the next flight home.”
“Okay,” she said softly. “Call me in the morning?”
“You got it.” I let her hang up then opened the security app on my phone. “Better safe than sorry.”
The guys, who had no trouble overhearing private conversations, would guess at my panic.
The first thing I did after purchasing the house was blanket it with security cameras. I wanted a warning to come through to us even if my wards unraveled before they sounded an alarm. I was doubly grateful for that paranoia now, as I flipped from camera to camera, bouncing from the porch view to the various entry points to the empty driveway and then to the tree mount that overlooked the entire house.
“I don’t see anything.” I exhaled through my parted lips. “It was probably an animal.”
“There are plenty of rabbits, deer, raccoons, foxes, and smaller prey on and around your property.”
The rundown from Asa, who had hunted there, made me feel better. However, Clay was unamused for it to come to light that Asa had been on the prowl while he was paralyzed and had chosen my property for his hunt.
“I get alarms if the camera perimeter is breached,” I told them, “but I’ll turn on motion alerts too.”
“Maybe we should call it a night.” Asa noticed the time. “It’s been a long day.”
“That sounds good.” I set down my phone. “I’ll shower and order room service while you rest.”
“I can stay if you want company.” A wrinkle pinched Clay’s brow. “I can binge Baketopia later.”
“That reminds me…” I squared off against him. “Your addiction to baking competitions is the reason why I stress bake. I hope you know that.” I jabbed a finger into his hard abs, which had literally been sculpted to perfection. “I could have opened a bakery with all the flour, butter, and sugar I’ve gone through in the last decade all because you got me hooked on sweets.”
Yet another reason he booked suites. They tended to come with full—if mini—kitchens. If he got bored with streaming videos or reading on his phone late at night, he got out of bed and hit Pinterest for recipes.
One night, early into our partnership, when my dreams were extra gruesome, Clay invited me to join him at the stove. The rest was history.
“I could have groceries delivered while you shower.” He winked. “I still remember that cookie recipe.”
“Kitchen sink cookies.” I wiped my mouth in case I drooled. “Can we bake them tomorrow night?”
“Sure thing.” He grinned. “I’ll get an order together. I expect we’ll be here another day at least.”